Broncos roll over Cowboys

Denver QB tosses 4 TDs, plus goes 22-of-32 for 231 yards

The Broncos' Trevor Siemian scrambles for a gain against the Cowboys during the second quarter on Sunday. The Broncos beat the Cowboys 42-17. (Andy Cross / The Denver Post)

ENGLEWOOD — The rain poured and the thunder struck just as Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian was getting hot. He had just found Demaryius Thomas for a deep strike. He had just found Emmanuel Sanders for a 25-yard yard completion, after which Sanders reeled in a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, clouded by a trio of Cowboys defenders.

Siemian needed fewer than six minutes of sunlight to help the Broncos jump to a 7-0 lead Sunday afternoon. The Broncos' defense needed even less time to send a message to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Although sky's favors were short-lived Sunday afternoon, the Broncos' momentum was not, as they returned from an hour-long lightning delay in the first quarter to punish the Cowboys' depleted defense and take a 42-17 victory.

Siemian tossed four touchdown passes (three in the first half alone) and finished 22-of-32 in passing for 231 yards, one interception and a passer rating of 116.0. The Broncos' outgained the Cowboys 380 yards to 268 and out-rushed them 178-40 in a statement game perhaps few saw coming.

very, very, very efficient with the football. He put us in good plays all night. Outside of the one interception, which was more of a unit issue than a Trevor issue, he played well. If he plays that solid for us, we'll be hard to beat down the stretch.

Remember: Denver was supposed to be the offensive underdog in this matchup, led by a seventh-round draft pick out of Northwestern whose arm strength and mobility are so often questioned.

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And remember: He's no Prescott, they said, and C.J. Anderson is no Elliott.

The script flipped in Denver as Siemian sprayed passes to nine different receivers and found Sanders twice for touchdown passes. Anderson busted loose for 118 rushing yards and a pair of scores himself, the first a 16-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter and the second a 23-yard run that blew the game open in the third.

Elliott, who led the league in rushing last season, had a mere eight net yards on nine carries Sunday. His previous single-game career low? Fifty-one.

Prescott, the lauded second-year quarterback and controller of Dallas' typically prolific offense, led his team both in the air (238 passing yards) and on the ground (24 rushing yards), threw a pair interceptions and notched a 68.6 rating.

"I just think everybody is buying into the scheme. I think (offensive coordinator) Mike McCoy got into a play-call rhythm," Anderson said. "... (Siemian) played tremendous once again. When we protect him, good things happy. He's understanding the gameplan and he's believing it and we're just following the plan. We're following our script, going down the script, play by play."

But Dallas' stumbles were as significant as Denver's overall attack. And while there were areas that certainly need a clean-up, the Broncos checked the important boxes Joseph spelled out when he took over.

They scored early, and they scored often. They were consistent in the run game, and mostly so in the passing game (outside of a miscommunication in the third quarter that resulted in an interception). They converted nine-of-15 third downs, they shored up the run defense, they pressured the quarterback and they didn't punt until the fourth quarter.

"We knew with their starters out (in the secondary) they would have trouble covering our receivers," Joseph said. "But the run the game, that was the jumpstarter. To run the football and to force those guys to play single-high to get (Thomas) and (Sanders) one-on-one. We knew it was going to be our advantage. Our receivers versus their DBs were going to be an edge for us, and obviously running the football helped that edge."

But a lingering and glaring weakness remained on the right side of the offensive line. Tackle Menelik Watson was burned twice, first inside by DeMarcus Lawrence that resulted in a strip-sack and led to a Dez Bryant touchdown catch, then again in the second quarter, on a spin move by Lawrence.

Concerns over the front five grew significantly midway through the third quarter to include both edges. Rookie left tackle Garett Bolles went down on a run play and had to be carted off the field. Bolles seemed to know immediately the injury was significant as he slapped the field while trainers tended to him, and received pats on the head from teammates as he was driven off. (X-rays were inconclusive, but Bolles, who left the stadium on crutches and an in a boot, will undergo further testing Monday.)

Donald Stephenson replaced him on the left side — and later Allen Barbre did, too — and the offense carried on. Siemian found tight end Virgil Green for a two-yard touchdown two plays after Bolles went down and cornerback Chris Harris picked off Prescott to set up Anderson's second touchdown of the day on the next drive.

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